


Four Ways Ianto Took Care of his Team (and One Way they Took Care of Him)

by Knitwritezombie (Missa_G)



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Four Times, Implied Relationships, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:09:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23756659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missa_G/pseuds/Knitwritezombie
Summary: Originally written as a character study in the winter of 2007 and posted on my fiction livejournal.
Relationships: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones
Kudos: 63





	1. Tosh

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written as a character study in the winter of 2007 and posted on my fiction livejournal.

Tosh looked completely miserable when she slipped through the storefront entrance to the hub. Ianto pressed the button that opened the hatch as he took in her red rimmed, too-bright eyes and pink cheeks. Her dark hair had been messily pulled back, and she was huddled into a huge sweater under her regular thigh-length leather coat. If she felt half as sick and tired as she looked, it was no wonder she'd called off earlier that morning.

But Jack had called and even the flu wouldn't keep Torchwood down for long.

Ianto handed her a cup of tea as she walked through the door. Tosh managed a small smile in thanks as she stepped through the portal into the hub proper.

He checked on her a couple times as he made his rounds through the hub, unobtrusively filling her tea and making sure she was okay. After the third round, she looked like she was ready to pass out at her station.

"Tosh." He touched her shoulder gently, and she barely reacted. "Toshiko?"

"Hm?" She looked at him. She was pale and shivering, huddled in her sweater and jacket.

"Come here," he said, holding out his hand. She took it and he gently pulled her from her chair and led her to the couch against the wall near her station. "Lay down," he urged gently.

"But," she protested. "Jack wanted –"

"Sh." Ianto helped her get situated. "I'll take care of Jack." He had draped his coat over a railing earlier, and grabbed for it, tucking it around Tosh's much smaller body.

"Thanks," she whispered, finding a small smile for him as she let herself drop off.

He watched her for a moment before rising to slip in his ear piece so he'd be ready when Jack called. He settled himself in at Tosh's station and watched the files she'd been processing for a moment before remotely logging into his station and getting to work on the monthly expense reports.

"Ianto? Where's Tosh?" Jack's voice came over Ianto's earpiece when he'd been working for about an hour.

"Sleeping. What do you need, sir?" Ianto positioned himself at Tosh's station. He wasn't the techie that she was, but he knew the software they used well enough.

"Sleeping?"

"Sir."

"Okay." Ianto could almost hear Jack shake his head. "Start compiling whatever information you can find on Dr James Williams. We're uploading the data we've collected here, so you can start analyzing it."

A few keystrokes and Ianto had the data the team had collected. "I've got it, sir."

"Good. We're on our way back."

The connection was broken with Jack's usual tact. Ianto started a search on Williams and took himself off to start the coffee. While it brewed, he took a look at the information Jack had sent. He couldn't do as much with it as Tosh could, but he could at least compare it to everything else they'd already seen. He started the search protocol and went to rouse Tosh.


	2. Jack

"Ianto?"

"Sir?" Ianto looked up from the paperwork he was completing on Suzie's death. Jack's face was drawn and tired, his blue gaze dimmed. It had been a very long day, and Ianto could hardly blame him for being tired. That, and the recent single gunshot through his boss' head was enough to make anyone exhausted.

"It's going to be a long night," Jack started.

"Yes, sir," Ianto responded. "Coffee?"

"Good man," Jack said and retreated back to his office. Ianto turned and watched him go, the glass walls revealing his boss slump into his chair and cradle his head in his hands, as if too much pressure might split it open. Ianto had seen that look before, on Jack, on others. Suzie worked herself into blinding migraines at least twice a month.

Ianto tried to shove that thought aside. Suzie was gone, and there was nothing more he could do for her. But he could help Jack. He hadn't before, but only because Jack always seemed to keep going, no matter what, putting on a brave face that gave away nothing.

The hub was mostly quiet as he passed through into the kitchen. Owen and Tosh had gone home hours ago, and Gwen had been quietly bundled into a cab after being debriefed and tentatively offered a job. Only he and Jack remained to finish up what needed to be done for Suzie.

While he brewed extra strong coffee for Jack (and boiled water for tea for himself), Ianto ran a cloth under scalding hot water, heating it thoroughly before wringing out the wetness. Everything but his tea ready, Ianto assembled it all on a tray and made his way to Jack's office.

Jack's head was still down when Ianto approached his office. Naturally light on his feet, practiced at being as unobtrusive as possible, Ianto was nearly silent as he entered Jack's space. The tray went down on the desk silently.

He picked up the warmed cloth and draped it gently over the nape of Jack's neck. Jack sighed at the contact, sagging a little more, but otherwise not moving. Ianto took that as tacit approval and permission and rested his hands lightly on Jack's shoulders, slowly moving his palms in circles to warm the skin and loosen the too-tight muscles across Jack's back.

Ianto worked gently across Jack's shoulders and upper back, focusing his attentions at the top of his spine and base of his neck. He worked carefully, trying to alleviate tension and not cause any more pain. Neither man spoke, only Ianto's steady breath and Jack's heavier sighs breaking the silence.

After a few long moments, Jack's right hand appeared over his left shoulder to rest atop Ianto's, head still bowed, breathing steadily. Ianto stopped his massage, but let his hands rest flat against Jack's back. They stayed that way until Jack released Ianto's hand and sat up.

"Ianto?"

"Sir?" Ianto spoke quietly, removing the cooled cloth from Jack's neck, folded it, and returned it to the plate on the tray he'd brought it on.

Jack raised his head, and Ianto was secretly pleased that there was some spark in those blue eyes again. Again, neither man spoke, but Ianto could somehow sense what Jack wanted to say, was trying to say. He nodded to his boss, understanding what Jack needed but somehow couldn't or wouldn't ask for. He somehow knew that it was just the simple act of being touched by someone else, that if Ianto had simply let his hands rest on Jack's shoulders for those moments, the result would have been the same.

Jack nodded in return, and accepted the mug he was handed.


	3. Owen

Ianto didn't like Owen much personally, but he thought the doctor had his moments professionally. But still, as much as an ass as he could be, he was still a member of the team, and he got looked after as much as the rest of them. Owen didn't seem to need as much, but when he showed up in the hub hung-over, Ianto brewed Owen's coffee a bit stronger, served it with a bit more sugar, and a side of paracetamol.

But he didn't reign in Tosh's teasing, and if the pterodactyl got a little rowdy, there wasn't much he could do about it.


	4. Gwen

Gwen seemed ridiculously easy to please. Ianto discovered early on that chocolate worked wonders in just about every instance, and he had taken to keeping a stash of it (because it occasionally worked on Tosh and Jack, too) in the kitchen. But when Ianto heard swearing and the sound of breaking ceramic late in the afternoon, he figured it might take a bit more than a few squares of Cadbury's to bring her back to her normal self.

That impression was confirmed a moment later when he stepped into the hub to find Gwen sitting defiantly in her chair glaring at Owen, who was holding his hand to his head, blood trickling from a cut on his forehead. Tosh was sitting nearby, wide-eyed, and Jack was nowhere to be seen.

As he passed her, Ianto laid his hand lightly on Tosh's shoulder, and she smiled, turning back to her station. She was probably more stunned that Gwen had lashed out rather than Owen being the target. Ianto retrieved the first aid kit from the wall and tossed it to Owen as he went into the kitchen.

Ianto emerged a few minutes later with a mug, a wax-paper wrapped package, and a broom. He handed the mug to Gwen (coffee with a healthy dose of kahula) and set the package at her elbow before turning to the remains of the coffee mug at Owen's feet.

"Shit," Owen said. "I'm gonna need stitches." He dabbed at the bleeding cut on his head. "Tosh, can you –?" He stepped over Ianto as he moved from his chair down to the "autopsy" room where his supplies were.

"Yeah, I'll give you a hand." Tosh slid from her chair gracefully. Ianto hid a grin as she paused at Gwen's station and murmured something in her ear. He could only imagine what Tosh would have to say. A smile ghosted over Gwen's face as Tosh stepped away to follow Owen.

Ianto heard the rustling as Gwen opened the triple chocolate brownie he'd stashed in the mini freezer for just such emergency. He focused on sopping up the tea that spilled while avoiding cutting himself on the smaller shards of ceramic. Still, he heard the happy sigh and could almost feel some of the tension in the room lift.

"Ianto?"

"Gwen." He turned from throwing the mess in the bin.

"Thanks."

Ianto nodded. He looked up towards Jack's office and found the Captain looking down. He nodded down at Ianto, a small smile playing on his face. Ianto returned the gesture and collected his broom, heading back into his office to get back to work.


	5. Ianto

Ianto slid to the floor with a graceful slump. He'd gone into his office for his car keys, but his whole body ached and his head throbbed and he thought he'd just rest for a minute –

He came awake with a gasp, struggling. His hands were bound and he couldn't fight back, they were going to –

"Ianto. Ianto. Look at me," a familiar voice, a familiar hand cupping his jaw and neck, thumb running gently over the stubble peppering his jaw. Something warm was wrapped around his hands, squeezing them together gently.

It took extraordinary effort to focus his gaze on the bright blue eyes hovering in front of him. Jack, his mushy memory supplied. His head felt like it was going to split open. "Cap'n" he slurred.

Jack smiled that real smile that lit up his eyes and always had Ianto's stomach doing flip flops. This time the flip flops were particularly vicious and he gagged, nausea overtaking him. Nothing came up, but strong hands supported him as he doubled over, every pain in his body reasserting itself. He retched for a minute, coughing weakly as his battered chest and belly protested the movements.

He sagged in Jack's arms when he was able to catch his breath, everything fading to a hazy grey instead of blessed black.

"Tosh, see if you can't find Owen. Ianto?"

He felt himself being repositioned as light footsteps retreated. He was being tugged painfully into more of a reclining position, resting against something warm and solid, a steady beat echoing against his back. "Ianto, wake up." Jack's commander voice ordered.

"'M wake," Ianto muttered without opening his eyes.

"You're not doing a great job of convincing me," Jack responded, tone light.

"Shou' I ge' up an' dance?" Ianto tried for sarcasm, but he was having trouble focusing. Even with his eyes closed he felt disoriented and dizzy. He was sure if he opened them that the room would be spinning.

Jack chuffed a laugh behind him and it vibrated through Ianto's body. "Just talk to me," he said gently. "Let me hear those beautiful Welsh vowels."

"'M tired," Ianto said flatly. And he hurt, and his mind just wasn't working. Why was he on the floor of his office with a splitting headache?

"I know." That hand was back at his neck and jaw, smoothing over rough skin, amazingly finding one patch of him that didn't ache. "How'd Tosh get free?" Jack asked.

"I distracted the guy," Ianto answered, letting his head drop back onto Jack's shoulder, breathing the familiar scent of Jack's aftershave and wool coat. "Head butted him to start a fight so she could run."

"Bloody stupid, too." Tosh said as she stepped into the room. "I thought you were coming with me."

"I tried," he muttered. He vaguely remembered something about getting hit in the head with a gun, and being beaten after Tosh got through the plastic draping the doorway.

His eyes fluttered open when a hand grasped his and something warm and wet pressed against his forehead. Tosh was kneeling next to him, wiping some of the grime and dried blood from the gash on his hairline.

Tosh inhaled sharply. "Jack," she said.

"Wha'?" Ianto asked, letting his eyes drift closed again as the warmth helped soothe away just a bit of the ache.

"Ianto," Jack prompted. "Look at me." The hand on his neck urged Ianto's closed gaze in one direction. "Just for a minute, let me see those gorgeous eyes of yours."

His eyelids felt weighted down, but he forced his eyes open because the Captain was asking him to. He was rewarded with that smile again. Ianto would have returned it if he'd had the energy.

"Thank you," Jack said, kissing Ianto lightly on the temple. Ianto's eyes drifted closed again. "Tosh," Jack said, keeping his voice calm. "Get the SUV around front. We'll meet you."

Ianto felt Tosh squeeze his hand before her footsteps receded toward the garage. "We goin'?" he asked.

"You," Jack said, "need a hospital."

Ianto felt hands on his shoulders and he moved as Jack pushed him upright. "Need to go home." Ianto said. The heat and steady rhythm at Ianto's back was missed immediately as Jack slipped out from behind him. "Need to work, need to look after you lot." The hands on his shoulders moved to his waist and he was tugged gently to his feet, Jack's arms wrapped securely around him as they shared full body contact. "Need to sleep. Need to work, need to clean, need to care for someone, need to rest, need to be here." On some level Ianto was aware he was rambling, but he couldn't stop.

Jack kissed him soundly on the lips, effectively cutting him off. "You can sleep soon," Jack promised. "For now, just let us take care of you." He said gently.

Ianto sagged against Jack again, his head swimming and throbbing in counterpoint to the rest of his body. Jack smelled familiar, comfortable, like home, and all Ianto wanted to do was wrap himself up in it and sleep. He rested his head on Jack's shoulder and let himself be led to the SUV.


End file.
